From the creators of the Gameloft-exclusive Duo Gamer and the Atari Arcade controller comes the Duo Pinball, a plastic frame that adds side buttons, a plunger and a lot of bulk to the Apple iPad. It’s the sort of controller only a pinball video game addict could love.
I’m Mike Fahey, and I’m a video game pinball addict. Since the days of Epic Pinball I’ve been in love with digital renditions of the silver ball. It’s has something to do with directly replicating a physical form of entertainment in digital form. Today’s more advanced simulations are only two buttons and a plunger away from the real thing.
The Duo Pinball is two buttons and a plunger.
To some this is a completely unnecessary accessory. It’s not as if sliding your finger to launch a ball and tapping fingers on either side of the screen are particularly difficult. For me the Duo Pinball adds one of the most important aspects of pinball to the digital version — palms down, fingers tapping.
As with all Duo devices for iOS, there’s an exclusivity catch — the Duo Pinball only works with OOO Gameprom’s Pinball HD Collection. It’s got a wonderful assortment of downloadable tables (five are included with the Duo Pinball), but there’s always going to be that disappointment when I hop into Zen Pinball or Pinball Maniacs and have to revert to the touch screen.
At $US60 the Duo Pinball is not for everyone — hell, it’s not for most people, really. It’s a large chunk of plastic with an incredibly limited function. I just happen to like that limited function.
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